Who is responsible if a Witness falls on your property while preaching?

by RULES & REGULATIONS 15 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  RULES & REGULATIONS

  Yesterday morning around 10:00 a.m.,my dog was barking non- stop. I was upstairs and thought maybe a rabbit or bird was in my back yard. I looked out the back window and found nothing. He was still barking non-stop. So,I walk downstairs and see that he is facing the front door and still barking. I look out the window and see two female Witnesses with a little girl around 8 years old. ( I know that they were Witnesses because of the time,they carried book bags,and they had a car with 2 people inside waiting). They never rang my doorbell and must of knocked very lightly.

  I look out my front window and see the little girl fall down. Because of ice on my driveway and how steep it is,anyone can fall if you're not careful.They pick her up and walk back to the waiting car.

  My question is: If the little girl injured herself,could I get sued? They were uninvited onto my property and were also tresspassing. Do you know of any cases where Witnesses were injured in field service?
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  lancelink

  I believe that you would be responsible.

  I knew a sister that fell and broke her ankle at the door of a really well to do person. her husband was the PO at the time, and I'm quite sure that

  he made a return visit to the householder telling him that everything was OK, he did not sue .

  Of course that is the "sanitized" version I heard,
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  Wasanelder Once

  If you posted "No Tresspassing" then they shouldn't be able to touch you. They were in violation and you were not at fault, you had done due dilegince in keeping people off the dangerous path. W.Once
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  villabolo

  Ethically speaking, it should be the uninvited person.

  villabolo
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  Aeiouy

  Where I live, I believe the law is this:

  You have to shovel snow and ice from the PUBLIC sidewalk in front of your house. That is a duty the city has given. There are no laws requiring shoveling your driveway, walkway, etc. I'm not expert, but I would take that to mean you are not responsible if it was on you PRIVATE property. 2 cents.

  Aeiouy
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  GLTirebiter

  You should get this advice from a lawyer. The law doesn't always take what we'd consider a sensible approach.
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  chickpea

  Who is responsible if a Witness falls on your property while preaching?

  the debbil
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  dissed

  I think its a good question and I don't really have an answer.

  The state you are from may have an opinion on this already.

  True, there are inherent risks with just walking on ice, but if you didn't show due diligence to clear the ice, you might be at fault. For instance, our sidewalk gets real slippery, and we know that, so we spread snow melt to give it traction.

  In Arizona, our legislature passed a law relieving householders of certain liability risks, but.... we have to post the sign to get protection. As tacky as the sign looks, we have the sign posted, and so do many of our neighbors.

  I still feel, it would be up to a judge and their interpretation of the situation. Did the snow just start to fall, was the person being responsible on your property, etc...?
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  hamsterbait

  If anybody on your property is injured, they have to show it is YOUR fault they were injured, and then you pay.

  If a guest trips on a rug in your sitting room.

  If a visitor slips because you failed to clear ice where it is a legal requirement.

  Uninvited door knockers are slightly different, in that they would not have been there but for the WTBTS expecting it of them. Look at the thread on the sister who was injured on field circus.

  A robber climbed up onto a reinforced glass roof. He hurled a brick to get in. The brick bounced and injured him. He won compensation!!

  A drunk man accidentally shot himself whilst driving. The wife won on the grounds that the gun maker should have made it impossible for a drunk driver to handle the gun whilst driving.

  HB
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  RR

  No one if they can't find his body